>The engine sputtered and died as you yanked the key out of it's ignition, the truck happily resting at the one place it was ever at other than home.

>Your helmet bumped the door frame as you stepped out into the gravel parking lot outside the factory, the lot crunching beneath your boots as you steadily pace your way to the unassuming side access door that served as the entrance for the place.

>It was never meant to be used as a storefront or anything, so the flat nothingness with a door cutting into it was just fine.

>To them at least, you were sure they could put in some trees or something, to make it feel less dead.

>That's what you were thinking as you swung the door open and greeted the front desk secretary, as you had done every day for years.

>The conversation with her grew shorter and shorter, and at this point you weren't quite sure you even remembered her name.

>Didn't much matter anyway, you both had your own separate jobs.

>Just a simple “hey." from you, and one returned from her.

>It was pretty meaningless, but it was such a ritual that you could actually tell that your work performance suffered when she wasn't there to say hi.

>You found it a bit disconcerting that you were attached enough to someone that may as well be an inanimate object that it could ruin your day when they weren't there.

>But that's life, you guessed.

>The plastics floor was as busy and smelly as usual, with black plastic goop being poured and pressed into molds, hot steam being squeezed into a thick cloud rising to the corrugated roof.

>Plastic was the best material to house a battery, but it sure was a pain in the ass to share the factory with its production. Took up three quarters of the whole building, leaving chemical and metals boys like yourself not much space to do the rest of the job.

>Not to mention the constant small fires they were dealing with.

>You observed the remnants of one such fire from your spot on the catwalk, the masked plastics workers scrubbing chunks of bubbly plastic from their mold in preparation to continue.

>Some part of the molding process can produce enough friction to combust the material, the lines were separated enough that the fires never spread, and the plastics guys were so used to it that they could have a fire out and a mold presser back up in less than half an hour.

>Wasn't good enough for your boss though, He was quite the stickler when it came to employee safety.

>Nowadays there was a dousing hose every 15 feet of wall, and every man in the building carried their own little gas mask.

>He wasn't able to get the best stuff ever- the masks being relics from the second world war- but it did show that he cared about you all.

>Speaking of the devil, you spotted him approaching you with a much smaller, lanky man you didn't recognize.

>God, what was up with his teeth? Did he get kicked in the mouth by a horse or something?

>"Mornin' Mous." Your boss started, leaning his softer, corporate form on the guardrail next to you.

>The hungry skeleton just stood staring.

>"Morning boss." You replied.

>"You watch the tube last night?" He started.

>"No sir." You replied, leaning to face him.

>"No fuss, I'll just have t-" He suddenly halted himself, looking you up and down.

>He adjusted his spectacles, and took another gander.

>"...Son, is your gear clean?" He asked.

>You let out a little involuntary chuckle. “Yessir."

>"Why?" He drawled.

>Explaining that your new robot housemaid did it for you didn't seem like the right call when about to be introduced to someone brand new.

>"N-no reason in particular, just a whim."

>"...Alright." He said, clearly noticing something was off. He didn't press it. “Anyway, This here's Arthur Devonshire. You and his boys are going to be working alongside eachother for the foreseeable future."

>He points at you both as you shake hands. “Arthur, Anon. Anon, Arthur."

>"Pleasure to meet! I hear you're one of the best Chemicals employees in the building."

>"I suppose so." You reply noncommitally. “Yourself?"

>"Ah, I'm just an office dweller from Lithotel." He said. “I'm here to oversee training and operations on this partnership."

>"That's right!" Your boss pipes in. “RCA has agreed to allow Lithotel to use our facilities and Staff to train their workforce and construct a run of these new Lithium cells they've developed. Fancy stuff."

>"So they're just replacing the lead with a different metal? Sounds pretty simple to me." You reply.

>"Ah, but that's the magic, It's not just replacing the lead, these batteries will be acid free as well!"

>"Hm." You grunted, rubbing your slightly scruffy chin.

>Perhaps it was around the time to shave, if you were going to start wearing clean gear.

>"We're hoping it will make them safer as well, without acid there wouldn't be a leak risk."

>No acid? That was half of your job.

>"...I look forward to seeing it, and helping to train your boys." You said, leaning off the guard rail and shaking the two men's hands.

>"Same to you, Anon!" He said. “It was nice meeting you!"

>You don't really know what to think of him yet.

>Maybe the boys have some thoughts.

+------------+

>Linus was already dozing at your shared station, just like every other day since he'd been onboarded.

>Even loaded up some plates and got the soldering kit out.

>Good kid.

>You roughly drop in to your padded seat, startling the teen out of his morning nap.

>He grunts and rubs the sleep from his eyes. “Mornin' Anon."

>"Good morning Linus! You ready for another Grrrooving day at the factory?"

>"Shut up man, you are not old enough to pretend not to get the word groovy."

>"You're right, I'll go back to calling your dates 'fake-outs' and music 'hip.'"

>"Eugh, you sound like my parents." He said. “-And my dates have been perfectly fine recently, thank you."

>Picking up the soldering pen and pulling the trigger, you look over to the boy and perk your brow.

>"Oh yeah? What happened to 'what girl!?'" you tease, clutching your chest and raising the pitch of your voice.

>"Ha-ha. Well, I just walked up and asked her out like you and said."

>"It's almost like me and Tom know what we're talking about."

>"Oh yeah? How've your most recent dates gone, old man"?"

>You just look at the smirking little shit with a glare that could kill.

>"You sure get comfortable when Tom and Vance aren't around to reel you in, don't you?"

>He chuckled, pulling the trigger to warm up his iron. “Come on, you know I gotta get my own licks in somehow."

>"You can have that one." You say, shimmying to get comfortable in your seat. “Anyway, what's on the itinerary?"

>"Isn't planning the day supposed to be your problem, Mr. Journeyman?"

>"Nope! As I have told you before It's going to be your problem until you get a squir-" You emphasize a cough into your fist. “Apprentice of your own."

>"...I can't wait for '71." The kid sighs into his workpeice.

>"It'll be great, you'll be all in your 20's and ready to die like the rest of us."

>"Cant be all of you. I know the boss did our jobs at one point," He said. "O'leary is in his 50's isn't he?"

>"No." you say, letting the sarcasm drop out of your voice to be replaced with a patented deadpan.

>He stops and stares into your face, probably hoping you'll crack and reveal the punchline.

>"You're joking r-right?"

>Before you could right the boy's belief, you were interrupted with the tinny crackle of the intercom.

>"Firemen to the plastics floor, Firemen to the plastics floor. Injector 3 blowout."

>You and Linus share a pointed look.

>"What's that, number two for today?" you ask.
>"Three." He says, returning to his solder joint, making short work of half a bank of plates.

>He was practically as fast as you, and in a sixth of the time it took for you to get that good.

>When he wasn't flubbing about thinking of his sweetie, he really could grind out some work.

>"God damn, I almost feel bad for those poor guys." You say. “Three fires and it's not even lunchtime."

>"I don't feel bad for Vance at all." The boy says, not looking up from the lead plates he was soldering together.

>The absolute seriousness in his voice makes you bark a short laugh.

>"Ah, sometimes you still get me with those, Linus."

>He just smirks like a goober while you work out your chuckles.

>"So this girl huh?" You start. “What was her name again?"

>"I've told you a thousand times now."

>"What's a thousand and one?"

>He got that thousand yard stare again.

>"...Bonnie."

>"Right! Right, Bonnie." You pretend to recall. “So you finally just up and did it, huh?"

>"Not exactly," He chuffed and shook his head. “A couple of my friends kind of corralled us together at Ben's party."

>"That Ben kid who didn't graduate? Throwing a house party? Color me surprised."

>He gives you a quick glare, before continuing.

>"They had her set up on the couch, and took every other seat but the one right next to her." He said.

>"I had to sit down to not look weird, but sitting next to her made it s-so hard to think."

>You decided not to make any comment, and just let the boy tell you his story. You'd busted his balls enough for now.

>"We'd all been having a group conversation for a while, but eventually everybody else left or fell asleep."

>"So it was just you and her?"

>"Yeah, and it was all I could do not to just clam up." He said, turning a bit paler than usual. As if she were in the room right now.

>Ah, young love.

>"But you didn't? That's new for you." you interjected, stacking the next plate onto your tower, and laying a solder bead on it's support.
>"I know, right?" He replied, in the same dismissive, sarcastic tone.

“Anyway, we get to talking. Just us." His eyes glazed over a bit “h- and uhh…"

>You perk a brow in his direction.

>He's just sitting there, staring a thousand yards past his hands.

>Jesus, this again.

>It's not that you don't understand what love is, but this is a bit much.

>"Hey" You say, dropping a gloved palm in front of his workpeice.

>He jerks a bit, and his eyes regain their focus.

>"S-sorry Anon, I got a bit lost there."

>"Hey, you're not going to tell Vance and Tom about this right?" He spoke over the hum of his iron.

>"I wouldn't want to have them get all giddy and wei-"

>Suddenly, the door to your meager office was roughly shouldered open by a stocky Italian in a fireproof jacket.

+------------+

>"Don't tell us what, boy?" He said in a silly tone, like a cartoon villain.

> The stocky man looked almost like one of those new punk band covers, what with his full fireman outfit and fresh soot stains. Even his pose was like that out of a film, Holding his breathing mask in one hand, and pointing the other at the startled teen.

>"Jesus Vance, you're going to knock the hinges off that thing one of these days." Chided Tom, pushing the fireman out of his way.

>"Ain't my fault they're the only ones in this building that know how to shut a door." He excused, unfolding your spare seat and dropping all of his weight into it as he took off his helmet and tousled his sweaty hair.

>"But back to this whole 'Don't tell us' thing." He said, looking towards Linus. “Trouble in paradise?"

>Linus didn't say anything and just looked at you pleadingly.
>Vance followed his gaze.

>"So Anon, what's all this about?"

>"Sorry Vance, sworn to secrecy." You replied absently as you moved your soldering gun on top of a new plate.

>“What a load of shit, right Tom?" He called back to the floor lead.

>"Kid's personal life ain't none of our business if he doesn't want it to be." He said before gesturing at you with his clipboard. “Plus, I'm more interested in what Anon here has to tell us."

>You stopped what you were doing and looked up at your tall friend.

>"Oh yeah? And what is that?"

>"Come on, don't think that just because it's been six weeks since you told me means that I just up and forgot that you were supposed to get your new sex robot last weekend."

>"Oh, that was this past weekend?" Vance interjected, his smirk already growing into a wide grin.

>"She's not a sex robot."

>"Oh it's 'she' huh?" He continued. “Wonder how he figured that one out."

>"Alright." You stop him abruptly, chucking an empty solder roll at his stupid face. “I'm not having this conversation right now."

>He just giggled like the manchild he was as he swatted away the plastic tube.

>"Denial." Linus spoke up.

>You just gave him a mean evil eye, and he surrendered.

>"Anyway, three fires so far today, huh? Can't be a good look for that British guy running around." you commented as you returned to your soldering work.

>"I would think it's not, but I think that's what they want." Tom answered. “Gives them a hell of a bargaining tool as far as 'safety' is concerned."

>"What a crock of shit." Vance interjected. “If it weren't for this plastic crap we wouldn't be having these problems anyway. Just three years ago I could sit on my ass and do nothing, then they replace the wood with this junk and now I have to do more work than real firemen do in the city."

>"Of course Vance is the one upset about having to actually work." You add.

>"When 'me working' means something has gone wrong, then I am perfectly happy to not work."

>"You're just happy to not work in general." You say with a sardonic smirk.

>"Ladies! You're both ugly." Tom shut the false argument down. “Anyway, it's not like Anon has much to say about laziness, what with the chores robot."

>You give him a tired glare.

>"That's right, you're not smooth. Even Vance would've seen that subject change a mile away, had it not been about him being a lazy ass."

>"I ain't a lazy ass." He sulked.

>All three of you gave him the look.

>"So how was it?"

>You push your fingers into your eyes.

>"How was what Tom."

>He doesn't say anything.

>When you look at him hes just standing there giving the dumbest possible deadpan expression.

>If you weren't being screwed with so bad you might've even smirked back.

>"What"?

>"Alright, who on the betting pool had day one?" He asked the other two

>"Shut up."

>"I think you did, Linus." Vance said.

>"Hah, Alright! Pay up chumps!"

>"Seriously kid?" You ask, scandalized.

>"Yeah, we did actually put a couple bucks on it." Tom answered.

>"Fuck you."

>"Fuck who? Your robot?"

>You just shook your head at all the chuckles.

>"Actually, I was just thinking something." Tom said. “It sure has been a while since anon hosted us."

>"That's true! I sure could use a good night of drinking with no wife." Vance stretched his legs out onto your desk. “Robotic eye candy wouldn't be so bad either."

>"Not a good time guys, maybe some other week." You say, shrinking further into your work.

>"Too bad." Vance said.

>"It's been too long since we really hung out. Plus, I could use a night without the wife or kids." Tom added.

>"I think it would be cool to meet your new robot." Linus that time.

>Fine, fine. Just… pick a day. And not my Sunday dammit, that's sacred." You cave as you push Vance's dirty boots off of your desk.

>"How about Saturday night? You'll at least have a Sunday of no bothersome antics to look forward to the whole time." Tom said.

>"So you're letting me know ahead of time you're going to be a pain?" You reply incredulously.

>"Mhm."

>You just sigh.

>Even everyone else in the room goes quiet for a short while as you rub your temples.

>"Well, it's settled then!" Vance said, clapping you on the shoulder. “Just the boys at Anon's place, Saturday after work."

>He pointed to the other two with a mock serious expression on his face, with one arm on your back.

>"Don't miss it."

>"I wouldn't for the world, Vance."

>"I'll be there!"

>Fuck me...